World Champion of Kendo
by Sketcher1994
Summary: Zoro shoved the two medals into his pocket, releasing a heavy sigh. He'd won another championship, but he still hadn't had another chance against the champion. He was hoping for a change in his usual routine, one that would maybe put him in the way of Mihawk, but what he got was a chance meeting with an archaeologist disguised as a waitress! Zorobin One-Shot!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda! ^_^**

**You asked for more Zorobin, so here's a little one-shot! ^_^**

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><p>Zoro shoved the two medals into his pocket, releasing a heavy sigh. He'd won another championship, but he still hadn't had another chance against the champion, not since he'd received a thrashing during their last encounter. His dream was to become the best, but the best had disappeared off the scene...again. Mihawk was the World Champion of Kendo, but he usually didn't bother turning up to the competitions or championships anymore; he preferred to be alone. Without him there though, it was just another boring day where he defeated every guy there. If he was lucky, there'd sometimes be a decent opponent, sometimes they were women; they were usually underestimated, but Zoro had learned at an early age that gender didn't matter in the world of kendo.<p>

Zoro stepped out of the back door and into the rain. He pulled his jacket collar further up his neck to try to protect him a little more from the cool water that threatened to trickle down the inside of his jacket. He should really get a jacket with a hood, at least then he could escape through the front door with everyone else without getting attacked by reporters and fans wanting his attention. He'd worked his way through the levels for years now and everyone knew him. He'd wanted everyone to know his name, but not the way they knew it. He'd gotten a bad reputation a while back for his 'brutality', not his skill. To make matters worse, he'd then challenged the champion just to get defeated without Mihawk even trying. He'd promised he'd never be beaten again, and he hadn't by any swordsman.

He walked over to his group of friends, yes friends, as annoying as they were, they were still his friends. He was greeted by the giant smiles of Luffy and Usoppe, while Nami told him he should have been able to finish that last fight faster. She was right, if he ever wanted to beat _him_, he'd have to be a lot faster. He had to train harder, to perfect his skills and techniques, to become stronger. He felt something hit the back of his head hard and turned around yelling at whoever had just hit him, only just turning fast enough to see Sanji's foot replant itself on the wet pavement.

"Oi, Marimo, pay attention when Nami-swan's speaking! She was asking if you wanted to go to the new pub near hers to celebrate. Be grateful she's even bothering to give a marimo like you some of her very busy time!" Sanji challenged, taking a stand.

"Oh? Why should I, Spiral-Brow?" Zoro replied, his hand going to the hilt of his shinai, while Luffy clutched his stomach, laughing at the two of them.

Usoppe sighed, shaking his head and muttered something about going on ahead. Nami banged their heads together and grabbed their ears, dragging them behind her as she followed after Usoppe, cursing the two of them loudly, Luffy still laughing as he followed. It didn't take them long to hail a taxi and get to the pub, Zoro and Sanji still sulking, Luffy between them as per Nami's orders so that she didn't get stuck between them if a fight started. Zoro sighed once again as he climbed out of the taxi after paying the driver. They still had the same routine. He'd win, they'd go to a pub to drink his winnings – or 'eat' in Luffy's case –then he and Sanji would get into a fight and they'd get kicked out. They had to find a new place to go every time. It was just as well each competition or championship was held in a different town and sometimes even country. His friends were always there with him though, and he was grateful for that.

He walked into the pub, his friends already inside and ordering their food. He walked up to the bar to order a drink before joining them. He looked up in surprise at the height of the blue-haired bar tender. He was huge! His arms were the size of Sanji's waist! He looked down the other side of the bar and realised the giant man was wearing Speedos with his open Hawaiian shirt, revealing tiny legs. Zoro had to stop himself from laughing at the contrast; he'd be in trouble if he got them kicked out before they'd eaten, then again, Nami did live just along the road – Sanji could just cook for them if he upset the bartender by laughing!

"Oi, oi! You're the SUPER kendo champion that I've been hearing about all week! Everyone's been talking about the 'green-haired guy who always wins' since we opened last week. Some orange-haired girl was saying to my friend the other night that she was betting a couple of thousand beri on you – did you win?!" The strange man practically shouted, standing less than two meters away on the other side of the bar.

"She did, did she?" Zoro turned to look over his shoulder at his friends, "Oi, guys – looks like Nami's paying tonight! She's just won a million beri!"

Zoro could feel the eyes glaring at the back of his head as he turned back to the man behind the bar, grinning. He'd pay for that later, but it was worth it. Nami clearly owed him by now after how much she'll have won betting on him over the years. Hell, he'd probably paid for her house. He sat on the barstool, ready to sit and chat before heading to the table, only to notice there was also a woman there now too. He smiled awkwardly at her, looking her over, starting with her bright smile. She had long dark hair with a strange blue shine to it, a shine that matched the colour of her eyes. She was wearing dark blue zip-up jacket that made it painfully clear that there wasn't anything underneath, while she seemed to only wear some sort of pink wrap as a skirt. He watched as the bartender laid a giant arm around her shoulders.

"So you did win then? Robin, this is the green-haired guy everyone's been talking about." He grinned.

"Hello there, Swordsman-san," she still looked so suspiciously happy, almost as if she was hiding something.

"...eh, um, hi 'Robin'...I'm Zoro." He replied awkwardly, not sure what to make of the clearly confident older woman, "yeah, I won. I plan to be the World Champion some day so it shouldn't be all that surprising. Sake please."

"Sure thing. I'm Franky by the way, nice to meet you, Zoro! Tell you what, this one's on me for your win. I took the young woman's advice, she seemed to like money so I figured she wouldn't benefit from placing a false bet, and she was waving those slips around like nobody's business." Zoro grunted, annoyed at her for being so reckless.

He downed his drink and strode over to the table, keeping an eye on the strange couple behind the bar as he walked. It wasn't long before the woman came over to the table again – to get his order since she'd already been across to get everyone else's – she hadn't realised the man at the bar had been part of their group and no one had thought to tell her. She hadn't seemed amused at that, at least to Zoro, but she'd maintained her smile perfectly. She had a pretty good poker face; no wonder she was a waitress. She appeared about fifteen minutes later with everyone else's meals, apologising that his would be at least another five minutes. Perfect. Another perfectly normal occurrence in his normal, uneventful life.

One of these times, something would change this ongoing routine. Something just had to. Maybe if something changed about their routine, he'd get that chance he'd been waiting for, for so many years. He'd been young and foolish back then, but if he hadn't been, if he hadn't been so determined, Mihawk would have just forgotten him. Instead he'd gained an impressive scar and some respect from the World Champion. If he could just change one thing; maybe Mihawk had been in the crowd? No, he wouldn't have been. Perona would have said hi if they'd been here. He'd actually gotten to know her pretty well over the two years that he'd spent with Mihawk, having begged him to take him as a student, much to Mihawk's disgust. Zoro still wasn't sure why the champion had agreed, but he didn't care. He'd tried hard during those two years, and he's continued training since. He was sure he was ready.

He listened as a violin started up in the corner of the room. He glanced over at the man with the violin. What was with this place and the ridiculous height of everyone in it? This guy even had a huge afro! Zoro shook his head, taking a final bite of his dinner. It had been good, but Sanji's food was better – not that he'd tell him that. He looked around at his laughing group of friends, glad that they were there. Without them he'd probably just wallow in self-pity, drinking the night and his money away all by himself, completely alone, instead he got to laugh. He wouldn't trade them for anything, well maybe he'd get rid of them if they got in the way of his dream, but that wasn't going to happen. They were stuck together for the ride, whether they liked it or not.

"What did you say to the lady behind the bar, Marimo?! You were rude to her, weren't you?! She keeps looking over at you, what did you say?!" Sanji suddenly shouted in his face, making Zoro subconsciously grab his shinai and jump back from the table to take a stance.

"I didn't say anything, Spiral-Brow – I was talking to the guy!" Zoro yelled back, frustrated at Sanji's sudden attack.

He just wanted to have a drink and relax! What was wrong with Sanji today? Oh yeah, nothing...they were always like this. Why'd he keep forgetting that? He couldn't wait until they got home and the idiot could stop acting like an idiot just because there's 'beautiful ladies' around. He just wanted to show off. Well, maybe he should teach him a lesson, maybe then he'd remember his place. Zoro kept his face completely straight and unchanging as he watched Nami sneak up behind Sanji. He burst out laughing as she punched him in the back of the head. He heard a quiet giggle behind him as he wiped a tear from his eye and turned around. There was the strange woman, standing behind the bar laughing at them. She wasn't about to kick them out? He walked up to the bar, replacing his shinai in his haramaki.

"Hey...Robin, right? Aren't you gonna kick us out?" He asked as she smiled happily at him, this time with a strange truthfulness to it.

"And why would I do that, Zoro-san?" She asked, confusing Zoro completely. It must have shown on his face because she suddenly started giggling again.

"Well...em...well, we...we, em, just started...em, you know, fighting? In the middle of your bar?" Zoro explained feeling strangely embarrassed.

"My bar?" She looked momentarily confused before smiling at him again, "this is Franky's bar, not mine, and _no_, we're not together. He's a good friend that needed help while he set up. I'm actually an archaeologist."

"An archaeologist? Seriously? What are you trying to find around here?" Zoro asked, trying to hide his surprise at her not just being a waitress, or even Franky's wife for that matter.

"Nothing here, but it's a good place to be since I can travel anywhere from this city. I travel around the world, looking for information on a lost age of history. I've managed to find bits and pieces as I've travelled. What about you? You said you wanted to be the World Champion of Kendo, Zoro-san." She leant over the bar to get closer in her fascination.

"I...em, I made a pact with a fri-friend when I was, em, younger. We decided that one of us would become the world champion, and she died..." He looked away, his building blush from her attention fading as he remembered the girl he'd made the pact with, "...now I have to achieve our dream alone."

"You don't look very alone to me, Zoro-san." He looked up, surprised by her response before looking back over his shoulder at his laughing friends.

"I guess you're right, thanks." He said smiling awkwardly at her, hoping that his smile showed how grateful he was to her at that moment; he'd spent all day feeling sorry for himself since finding out Mihawk wasn't going to appear.

"Sake?" Zoro nodded at her, her false smile having returned as she'd pulled back, "so, what happened to your eye?"

"Huh? Oh, training accident. I actually train a lot with three katanas, real ones, and ended up losing my eye to one of my opponents – one eye wasn't exactly a problem, I'd been against several opponents at the time, and anyway, if I'd lost both I'd just of had to learn to fight without any eyes. I can already win with my eye closed!" Zoro gloated, his chest swelling with pride.

"Very impressive, Zoro-san! I'll have to come watch you fight some time; where are you next?" She smiled, Zoro's smile growing larger for some reason.

"Well, the next competition isn't for another month, but you're welcome to join us, as long as Franky can spare you. We'll all be here in the city until then. Love-Cook and I live on the outskirts of town, but Nami lives just along the road from here. Luffy and Usoppe live pretty close to here too, actually." He tried to regain his seriousness; he didn't know this woman, he wasn't going to fall for her mind games, whatever her end goal...and he'd just told her where everyone lived...he's an idiot.

"That would be really nice, Zoro-san. Franky and Brooke would probably like to come as well if that's ok? I hope your boyfriend doesn't mind you inviting me though?" She asked, shining a glass as she smiled at him.

"Bo-Boyfriend?! What?! I don't have a boyfriend!? Where'd you come up with that?!" He asked completely flustered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Zoro-san! I thought your blonde friend was your boyfriend; you said you lived with 'Love-Cook', and he seemed to be getting jealous because I kept looking at you. I thought he was worried that you were thinking about cheating on him." Zoro's jaw fell to the floor. It all made annoyingly perfect sense as she said it...what if that was how it seemed to everyone else? No wonder girls always thought he was weird when he accepted one of Sanji's bets to go talk to them.

He was gonna kill him.

"SPIRAL-BROW!" He yelled, turning towards the group, hearing another giggle behind him...she was laughing at him again; she probably had that happy smile on her face.

He sighed heavily. Well at least _something_ had changed. There was now a woman _laughing_ at him as he fought with Sanji, instead of running in fear, or in Nami's case – getting extremely irritated. He couldn't exactly complain; he had wanted change. The change just thought he was interested in men. He watched as Sanji marched up to him, Zoro already knowing that a kick was about to look for a target. Sanji didn't exactly like to be 'summoned'. Zoro was going to get an earful when they got home...oh god, they really were like a married couple.

"What do you want, Marimo?!" Sanji yelled as his foot swung through the air towards Zoro's head, only to meet with a shinai instead.

"Tell her that we're not together! She thought you were my boyfriend because you were getting jealous, Spiral-Brow!" Zoro yelled back, causing Sanji's face to momentarily blush at the thought of how their previous argument must have looked to the unknown lady.

"I'm very sorry, miss, if my friend here has been rude to you in any way." Sanji started, bowing politely to Robin, "my name is Sanji. May I ask for your name, fair maiden?"

"Nico Robin, nice to meet you, Sanji-san," She giggled, somehow annoying Zoro.

"Yeah, yeah. This is Love-Cook – he's my flatmate, _not_ boyfriend." Zoro grunted, turning away and leaning against the bar.

"Love-Cook?" Zoro could feel Sanji's glare and figured he'd pay for that one later too.

"Yeah, he's obsessed with women – he'd do anything for a woman he'd just met. Just ignore him, I do." Well, if he was already in trouble then it couldn't get any worse.

"Really? So does that mean you don't want me to cook for you?" Zoro visibly gulped. Why'd he forget about _that_ part?!

He heard another giggle.

"So you cook all the meals, Sanji-san?" He could hear the smile in her voice. What did she want with _him_?

"Yeah, he's a trained chef – shame he doesn't have a job and I have to pay the rent. He's actually pretty good" – that was an understatement – "but he doesn't have any experience that isn't 'family related', and after we moved here, he couldn't get a job. I work at the local Dojo training some of the kids." Zoro explained, not turning around to find out if steam was coming out of Sanji's ears.

"Really? That's very impressive, Zoro-san," she was clearly still smiling, "your scars must really intrigue the children. I always find the stories behind scars fascinating!" – was she making fun of him? It didn't sound like it... – "but Sanji-san, are you currently looking for a job? Franky is actually looking for someone. He's having to cook the meals himself while managing the bar – his cook never turned up, you see. That's actually why I came here to help; he was panicking a little because it was just him and Brooke – the musician – so I offered to come over. It's actually a good base for my work."

"Are you telling everyone about your research again, Robin?" Franky asked appearing from the kitchen.

"Actually, Robin-chwan was just telling us that you were looking for a cook?" Sanji defended cheerfully.

"Oh, are you interested in the job? I have a few questions I have to ask you." Zoro turned around and smiled gratefully at Robin.

"Another sake, please? It'll be good if he gets a job here – all of you actually seem alright, not that I'm saying that I thought you wouldn't be; it's just you seem to keep putting on a brilliant poker face. Is there a reason for that?" He asked her, blushing slightly as he tried to decide if he'd just been rude to her.

"Would you like to meet up for coffee?"

"Wh-What?" Zoro spluttered, his face turning red.

"I'll be in the city for some time, and I really only know Franky, Brooke and you," she smiled, "if you want to meet up, we could maybe talk to each other about our difficult pasts. Yours seems very interesting, Zoro-san. Maybe we could even talk about our plans for the future?"

Zoro walked in through his front door, Sanji following him in with a huge grin on his face – he'd found a job working with a tall beautiful lady, a lady with a mature elegance about her. He grinned at his luck; now he had both Nami-swan and Robin-chwan to look after – he was the luckiest man alive to know two such beautiful women. Zoro shook his head at his idiot flatmate as he closed and locked the front door. He patted his trouser pocket, checking for the sound of paper before walking into the kitchen. His cat walked along the worktop as he walked in. Zoro lifted him before Sanji caught him, and grabbed a bottle of sake before heading back into the living room, throwing himself onto the couch.

"You know, Chopper, I met someone interesting today, I think you'd like her." Zoro told the purring cat quietly while he rubbed behind its ears.

He took a swig of the sake before placing the bottle on the coffee table. He pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and stared at it for a while, absent-mindedly rubbing his cat's ears. He reached into his kit bag and pulled his phone out of one of the inside pockets, flipping it open. He clicked a button and started typing;

'Hey, Robin, you know, coffee sounds nice.'

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><p><strong>Hehe, thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! ^_^ I kept thinking of Zoro just walking out into the rain with his medals when I was trying to think up a Zorobin, and it took me a while to lengthen that idea, sorry! :) Anyone reading 'The Life of the First Mate', I have some good news for you – Chapter 2 will be up next week! ^_^<strong>

**Thursday will be Chapter 7 of 'With Someone Else', it'll be up at the new 'Thursday' time ^_^ But next Monday, you're getting the next chapter of my One Piece story! ^_^ It'll still be at the usual time though! ^_^** _(Family matters to deal with, so Monday, not Sunday!)_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda**

**I AM SOOOO SORRY! Uni work just got on top of me...too much...so, here's the chapter I promised you! I don't know if it's any good, but I got a spark of inspiration while writing an essay and I decided to try writing it...I feel it may have made things move a little fast...but...it does make Robin a totally awesome person sooo...hope I can be forgiven! ? Any OOC-ness I can only blame on sleep deprivation :P**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

They'd been sitting in the lounge area of the local library for almost two hours now, and Zoro had run out of things to tell her. He'd start telling her about his friends, but she didn't seem to mind the current silence as she sipped on her coffee. It had been a week since he'd met her, and here they were. She'd told him all about her childhood, travelling from foster parents to foster parents after the brutal murder of her mother when she was only eight. He'd returned the favour by immediately telling her about his childhood, which had of course brought him, once again, to tell her all about his dream. She hadn't seemed bored; in fact she'd seem fascinated. Zoro calmly watched her sip her coffee as she smiled out of the window at the failing rain.

"No one really looks at you when it's raining, do they?"

"Heh, nope – that's why I like when it rains on Championship days. I still have to go out the back door, but everyone's in too much of a hurry to get to wherever they're going to notice me once I'm out. I actually find it kinda peaceful these days." Zoro replied almost absently, his eye still watching Robin.

"Hmm," Robin turned back to Zoro and smiled, "I'm glad you like the rain too, Zoro-san."

Zoro turned his face away, aware of a slight warmth to his cheeks, grunting in agreement. If she liked to go around unnoticed, why does she wear such revealing clothes? She's practically falling out of her jacket, and why is she still not wearing anything under it? Every guy in here is staring at her! Zoro glared as another man walked past, his eyes staring greedily. He'd been the fourth in the last hour to go past like that, and Zoro had the growing urge to throw his jacket over her before slicing every guy in the library to pieces. They were just here for coffee, nothing more, Zoro reminded himself; this was getting to know each other, not a date. He looked back over at Robin and realised she was staring out the window again.

"People-watcher, huh?"

"I find the everyday behaviours of others very interesting, Zoro-san. I like to watch others going through their fixed routines or amusing mishaps. Some people are rather clumsy, like yourself." She smiled again, glancing at him out the corner of her eye, "I had to come find you earlier, Zoro-san."

"I-I would have found my way here eventually! It's not my fault this place is so hard to find!" Zoro replied, his embarrassment showing in his clear annoyance.

His face flushed again at the sound of her giggle. He looked away again, just in time to glare at another passerby. He grabbed his jacket from where it was lying across the back of his armchair and threw it to her, the jacket landing perfectly so that it covered her chest. She looked at him in surprise before giggling again behind her hand as his face grew ever redder. Zoro just wanted to hide. She kept laughing at him, but for some reason he was still sitting across from her in the town's main library, enjoying her company. He looked at his phone and sighed. He had four missed calls, all labelled 'Love-Cook'. Zoro hadn't told him that he was meeting Robin, but now he almost wished he had. Zoro, as much as he was enjoying her now silent company, wished he knew where to take the conversation now.

"When is your next competition, Zoro-san?" Robin asked, zipping her jacket up and handing Zoro his back.

"Em, it's about five weeks away. Why?" Zoro asked as he started to stand up, following Robin's example.

"Oh," Robin reached down for her handbag, facing away from Zoro, "I've been asked if I would like to study the ruins of a town destroyed by war. It's not ancient, but I've been told the ruins and the history behind it is very interesting, as well as the castle. It's the castle's current owner that has asked if I would like to come investigate – he only knows some of the town's history, and is interested as to how much more I can tell him."

"Huh...where is it?" Something stirred in the back of Zoro's mind, making him feel as if there was something vaguely familiar about what she had just told him, "and, eh, how long will you be away?"

"It's on a small island in the middle of the sea," she replied, standing back up and turning to face him, "I don't really know when I'll be back, but I believe you would be very interested in going, Zoro-san."

"And why's that?" He asked, the hilt of his ever present shinai making contact with the stomach of a drooling passerby, making Robin giggle and Zoro smirk at his achievement at making her laugh, and not at him.

"Would you like to come with me, Zoro-san? You could fight off the castle's owner if he also decides to drool." She joked teasingly, making Zoro unsure whether to be embarrassed or proud, while causing him to forget his own question.

Zoro stood in his room, Chopper rubbing against his legs. He was staring down at his half-packed suitcase wondering how he'd been talked into agreeing to go to some remote island in the middle of the sea. Not only was he about to miss the next championship he was expected at, he was going to be spending his time wandering around rubble with a woman he'd only met twice. She was a particularly interesting woman, but she was technically a complete stranger. Even if he knew everything about her childhood and her life until now, she was still a stranger. Actually, there wasn't much he didn't know about her. Maybe he couldn't quite call her a stranger, but technically she could still be a murderer. She would be strangely beautiful murderer with an adorably yet annoying giggle, but a murderer none the less. He couldn't exactly ask her if she was, that would be rude – even he knew that. Anyway, he was surely more dangerous than her, and she'd willingly invited him and his three real katanas onto a private plane. Maybe she was suicidal?

"Marimo! What's this about you going on holiday with Robin-chwan?!"

"Great, Love-Cook, you're home." Zoro replied sarcastically.

"Robin-chwan just told me you're going with her when she goes to her next job! How dare you go off with Robin-chwan! You don't deserve to bask in her mature, elegant beauty!" Sanji half-yelled, half-swooned.

"She invited me, and I'm not even sure why I agreed." Zoro replied, slightly irritated at his flatmate's insults, "hopefully we'll be back in time for Luffy's championships in seven weeks. I want to be here when he wins."

"Well, go and tell her that you don't want to go!" Sanji shouted.

"Eh? Who said I didn't want to go, Love-Cook!?" Zoro shouted back, stepping towards Sanji, "and anyway, why wouldn't I just phone her?!"

"Phone her!? Why would a Marimo like you have her number?!" Sanji yelled, his face only inches from Zoro's.

"She gave me it two weeks ago when I met her so that we could meet for coffee." Zoro replied smugly, turning back to where his open suitcase was lying on his bed, "that's where I was last Saturday when you were trying to phone me – I was having coffee with Robin, and she's certainly very confident with her body."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ROBIN-CHWAN?!" Sanji yelled, his face scarlet with rage.

"Nothing you wouldn't want to do, Love-Cook," Zoro continued to taunt.

"MARIMO! HOW DARE YOU DO NAUGHTY THINGS WITH ROBIN-CHWAN WITHOUT ME!?"

"Without you?" Zoro asked, trying keep his face from breaking into a cheesy grin at the sight of Sanji trapped between being a raging idiot and a weeping puddle, "relax, Love-Cook, I only had coffee with her and beat up a guy that was staring at her chest. It would be great if she actually wore something under that damn jacket."

"Huh? She wasn't wearing anything under it when she met up with you?" Zoro looked at Sanji, confused by his question, "she was wearing a bikini top under it when she came to work last Saturday – why would she take it off to meet up with you? And how the hell did you find out she wasn't wearing anything under her jacket, Marimo!?"

"What? She had a bikini top on?! It looks like she's just wearing a zip-up jacket!" Zoro exclaimed in surprise before his ears became warm.

"You idiot, Marimo! Of course she was wearing something underneath! What kind of perverted thoughts were going through your head?!"

Zoro stepped onto the plane, refusing to look at Robin. He still couldn't believe how stupid he had been the last two times they had met. Sanji hadn't even let him drink his sake last night as punishment. Zoro was even pretty sure that Sanji had told Nami too, so he was definitely going to get it next time he met up with everyone. One of these times he'd teach that thieving brat some manners! He heard a giggle behind him as he put his luggage away, and grunted a 'what?' at Robin.

"You've been very quiet, Zoro-san. Is this perhaps to do with Sanji-san finding out that you were coming with me?" Zoro turned in surprise, unsure of how much she knew about the previous day's conversation.

"Em, what's he told you?" He asked keeping a straight face.

"Sanji-san has not told me anything – is there something I should know?" She replied, still smiling.

"Em...I'm going to ask you something, and you don't have to answer, but Love-Cook and I had a bit of an argument yesterday," Zoro started, painfully aware that it sounded like he was about to ask which of them she liked better, "we were, em, arguing about whether or not you actually wear anything under your jacket?"

Zoro couldn't believe what he'd just asked, and he certainly wasn't surprised that she then laughed at him. He watched carefully as her hand went to her zip as he tried not to blush. She slowly pulled the zip down and Zoro spun around instantly, trying not to become Love-Cook at what he'd just seen.

Zoro stepped off the plane and instantly knew where he was. He'd spent two years of his life here, and he certainly wasn't going to forget those years anytime soon. His hand went to the hilt of one of his katanas as Mihawk walked across the tarmac to greet them, clearly ignoring Zoro's defensive stance. Zoro watched as Mihawk approached Robin, taking off his hat and bowing his head in a polite greeting.

"Good afternoon, Miss Nico. I am glad that you could join us."

"Hello, Mihawk-san. I am happy to be here," she replied before gesturing towards Zoro, "I believe you have met my companion, Roronoa Zoro."

"I have indeed." He replied, nodding to Zoro, "I've had Perona set up a room for you. It's the room Zoro stayed in during his last visit. I'll have Perona show the two of you the way though, doubt Zoro could find his way to the room – he couldn't even find his way to it after two years. I would get up in the morning to find him asleep in a corridor in a completely different part of the castle." Mihawk finished as Robin giggled.

"Oi! It's not my fault Perona kept switching the rooms around!" Zoro exclaimed.

"I looked into that accusation last time, and we both know the results."

Zoro followed the two women along the corridor of one of the wings, muttering away to himself. Mihawk and the women had been making comments at his expense since they'd reached the damn castle, and now here he was following the two women as Perona told Robin all about his two year stay on the island. It seemed to take an eternity for them to reach the door that they were looking for. Mihawk had said something about the room he'd stayed in during his last visit but Zoro couldn't really remember anything about it. It had been a bedroom, and he was there to train, not to sleep in a giant comfy bed.

"Here. Dinner will be in an hour, so if you want to change you might want to do it now. I don't like when people keep me waiting after I've spent hours cooking." Perona explained in an annoyed tone as she opened the door to reveal a spacious room with a comfy-looking double bed.

"So, where am I sleeping?" Zoro asked Perona, to which Perona giving him a very questioning look.

"Zoro, this isn't like the hostels we've stayed at where we have to have separate rooms – we can actually share a room here, Zoro dear." Robin smiled, gently taking his arm to lead him into the room.

Zoro followed her in, trying to hide his confusion as he decided to go along with whatever strange plan she had. He shut the door and turned to find her unpacking. He threw his suitcase onto the bed next to hers and started unpacking it. He blushed as she pulled a bikini top out, causing him to remember the sight of her unzipped jacket and lack of bikini top. Were they really going to share a room? They'd only just met, and Zoro was pretty sure Robin had just tried to give Perona the impression they'd been together for a while. Had she told Mihawk they were together? Or just Perona? Why would she do that? Zoro looked away as Robin removed her wrap, to reveal beautiful, long, pale legs and immediately unzipped her jacket. Why was she undressing like that?

"You don't need to be shy, Zoro-san. We'll be sharing this room for a couple of weeks, and we do need to get ready for dinner – or do you plan to turn up in a white t-shirt and your haramaki?" She teased.

"What did you tell them about us?" Zoro asked, glancing over his shoulder before turning around.

"Us? Oh, sorry, Zoro-san. I told Mihawk-san that I was bringing a male companion, and he must have assumed you were my husband. He probably realised his error when we arrived and he recognised you." She replied, smiling her fake smile.

"I was more questioning what you said to me in front of Perona," he grumbled looking away, "but you did fail to tell me you have a husband."

"Sorry, Zoro-san, if you would rather I went and told her the truth then I will – I just felt that it may have been necessary considering the two of you spent two years together," she replied darkly, "as to me having a husband, I do not. If I had one, I would certainly have corrected Mihawk-san's mistake, and I certainly would not have knowingly gotten between you and Perona."

"...between me and Perona? What are you talking about? I can't stand that girl! She's irritating and a total pain in the ass! I like her even less than Nami, and I tolerate Nami at best!" Zoro snapped back.

"That could be considered a sign of affection, Zoro-san, and we both know Nami is your friend, whether you admit it or not." She replied coldly.

"What did I do?" Zoro asked plainly, wanting to know why she was suddenly in such a foul mood with him.

"What?" she turned to him clearly confused.

"What did I do to upset you? You were in such a good mood, and now you're clearly angry at me for something. Normally I wouldn't bother and just ignore someone when they're clearly annoyed at me, but we just got here...and I was kinda looking forward to spending a some more time with you...I'm even missing my next championship to be here, at least tell me what I did," he replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry, Zoro-san," she started, giving him a sad smile, "you haven't done anything. I just thought you were upset with me for being so forward in front of Perona. It had made me think you were interested in her."

"And what would you say if I was?" He teased jokingly.

"Well, Zoro-san, I guess I'd just have to make you more interested in me," Robin replied, wrapping her arms around Zoro, causing him to become flustered.

"ZORO!"

"Ah! Perona's angry! Has it been an hour already?!" Zoro asked, pulling away from Robin and pulling his t-shirt over his head, briefly hiding his crimson face.

"Do you need a hand Zoro-san?" Robin asked, reaching for the t-shirt that he'd seemingly gotten stuck in, unknowingly flashing his perfectly chiselled but scarred torso.

"I'm fine," he replied, finally pulling it off his head and grabbing his shirt before heading to the door, glancing back at the double bed.

"You weren't at the last championship." Zoro stated as they sat around the long dining table.

"I only go if I've been summoned," Mihawk started, "anyway, why would you wish me there? I certainly do not wish to embarrass you again – I find it embarrassing."

"What did you say?!"

"Zoro dear, we are at the table." Robin politely reminded him, Zoro feeling strangely smug at her using 'dear' – if only Love-Cook was here! No, he was glad he wasn't; Love-Cook would ruin everything.

"I was very surprised, Miss Nico, when you finally accepted my invitation. I was even more surprised when I heard rumours that you were taking a break from archaeology, why was that?" Mihawk asked, cutting elegantly into his duck.

"I was helping a friend set up his bar, Mihawk-san. His cook failed to arrive, so he asked for my help. Zoro was actually to one to find my friend a new cook, and as I was now able to leave knowing my friend was going to manage fine, I decided to start where I left off on my list of places to visit." Robin answered, smiling at their host, "Sadly, we may not be able to stay too long – my companion should really be back for his next championship."

"You keep saying 'companion', is there a reason for that, Robin?" Perona asked suspiciously.

"She's a little shy about saying 'boyfriend' because I'm a little younger than her," Zoro replied smirking as Robin smiled at him, causing Perona to start huffing, "as to going back for the championships, if Mihawk won't be there then there's no point in going, is there?"

"As I said, it is embarrassing for both of us when I defeat you so easily. However, I will give you a chance," Zoro sat forward in his seat, ready to listen to whatever Mihawk told him, "if you can win the 'New World Championship' in six months, I will face you at that same championship the following year."

Zoro walked along the corridor from the bathroom towards the bedroom, his mind happily preoccupied. He opened the bedroom door to the sight of a happy Robin lying in the double bed reading her book. He smiled as he walked over to the bed and climbed in, letting Robin curl up into his side as he got settled for the night. It had definitely been a change. He'd wanted a change to his routine, one that would bring him to his final fight with Mihawk. What he'd gotten was an intelligent and beautiful girlfriend, even if she was more woman than girl, and a chance to achieve his dream. At that moment, as far as he was concerned, he was the luckiest man alive, simply because fate had brought him to Robin, the wonderful woman curled up against him with a book.

* * *

><p><strong>Robin got him the chance he wanted! Ta-dah! XD She was indeed the change in routine that he needed ;P Ok, hope you liked this! This will definitely be the last chapter for this – it was genuinely supposed to be a one-shot, and I surprised myself by managing to come up with a second chapter, please let me know what you thought of it! :D And I am REALLY sorry it was late!<strong>

**Just to say, there won't be a one-shot or chapter this Sunday/Monday – I'm literally snowed under with deadlines, and I still need to reply to messages but I haven't even had a chance to sit down to write the responses they deserve :( I'll have to find time for that as well as deadlines...anyway, Thursday's final chapter of 'With Someone Else' will go up tomorrow, and to make up for the lack of one-shot/chapter this weekend, I'll give you two chapters the following week! **

** Sunday 9****th**** November (or Monday 10****th****) – Chapter 3 of 'The Life of the First Mate'**

** Monday 10****th**** November (or Tuesday 11****th****) – Chapter 4 of 'The Life of the First Mate'**

**Is this ok for everyone? I am trying not to disappear completely :(**

**- Sketcher**


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